Creating a Destination

This guide walks you through connecting a new destination to SignalSmith.

Step 1: Navigate to Destinations

1. Open the SignalSmith UI
2. Click Destinations in the left sidebar
3. Click Add Destination

Step 2: Select a Destination Type

Browse or search the destination catalog. Destinations are organized by category: CRM, Advertising, Marketing, Analytics, Warehouses, Cloud Storage, Streaming, and Other.

Click on the destination type you want to connect.

Step 3: Authenticate

The authentication step varies by destination type. SignalSmith supports several authentication methods:

OAuth 2.0

For destinations like Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads:

1. Click Connect with OAuth
2. A browser window opens to the destination’s authorization page
3. Sign in and grant the requested permissions
4. You are redirected back to SignalSmith with the connection established

SignalSmith automatically manages OAuth token refresh, so you do not need to re-authenticate unless you revoke access.

API Key / Token

For destinations like Braze, Klaviyo, SendGrid, and Pipedrive:

1. Navigate to the destination platform’s settings to generate an API key
2. Copy the API key
3. Paste it into the API Key field in SignalSmith
4. Click Test Connection to verify

Username & Password

For database destinations like Snowflake, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redshift:

1. Enter the database Host, Port, and Database name
2. Enter the Username and Password
3. Configure SSL/TLS settings as needed
4. Click Test Connection to verify

Service Account

For GCP-based destinations like BigQuery, Google Cloud Storage, and Google Pub/Sub:

1. Create a service account in your GCP project
2. Download the JSON key file
3. Upload or paste the JSON key into SignalSmith
4. Click Test Connection to verify

Step 4: Configure Settings

After authentication, configure the destination-specific settings. These vary by destination type but commonly include:

• Instance URL / Subdomain — The URL of your destination instance (e.g., myorg.my.salesforce.com)
• API Version — Which API version to use for requests
• Data Center / Region — The geographic region of your account
• Bucket / Container — For cloud storage destinations, the target storage location

All required fields are marked with an asterisk (*). Optional fields have sensible defaults.

Step 5: Test the Connection

Click Test Connection to run SignalSmith’s multi-step connection test. The test validates:

1. Configuration — All required fields are present and correctly formatted
2. Authentication — Credentials are valid and not expired
3. API Access — The destination API is reachable and responds correctly
4. Permissions — The authenticated user/key has the necessary permissions

Each step shows a pass/fail status. If a step fails, SignalSmith displays the error message and, where possible, a suggested fix.

Step 6: Save

Click Save to create the destination. You can now use it when creating syncs.

What Happens Next

After creating a destination, the typical next steps are:

1. Create a sync — Go to Syncs > Create Sync, select your model as the source and your new destination as the target
2. Map fields — Map model columns to destination fields (see Field Mapping)
3. Choose a sync mode — Select how data should be written (see Sync Modes)
4. Set a schedule — Define how often the sync should run
5. Run — Execute the first sync and monitor the results

Managing Destinations

Editing a Destination

1. Go to Destinations and click on the destination you want to edit
2. Update the configuration or credentials
3. Click Test Connection to verify changes
4. Click Save

Deleting a Destination

1. Go to Destinations and click on the destination
2. Click Delete in the settings panel
3. Confirm the deletion

Deleting a destination also removes all syncs that use it. This action cannot be undone.

Re-authenticating

If an OAuth token expires or you need to rotate API keys:

1. Go to Destinations and click on the destination
2. Click Reconnect (for OAuth) or update the API key field
3. Click Test Connection and then Save